Download or read book Rock Island Requiem written by Gregory L. Schneider and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2020-02-05 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrated in history and song, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company—the Rock Island Line—was a powerful Midwestern railroad that once traversed thirteen states with its fast freights and Rocket passenger trains but eventually succumbed to government regulation and a changing economy. Gregory Schneider chronicles the Rock Island’s painful decline and along the way reveals some of the key problems within the American railroad industry during the post–World War II era. Schneider takes readers back to a time when railroads still clung to a storied past to offer new insight into the devastating impact of economic policymaking during the 1960s and 1970s. Schneider recounts the largest railroad liquidation in American history—as well as one of the most successful reorganizations in American business—to depict the demise and ultimate collapse of Rock Island as part of a broader account of hard times in the railroad industry beginning in the 1970s. Schneider weaves a complex story of how business, politics, government bureaucracy, and individual greed helped to limit the economic possibilities of the railroad industry and catapult the Rock Island Railroad into oblivion. Weakened by a troubled economy, the Rock fell victim to inept management and labor union intransigence; but Schneider also reveals how government regulations and price controls prevented innovation, hindered capital acquisition, and favored other forms of transportation that lie beyond the scope of regulation. Railroads were even hurt by taxation of property and real estate while competitors were able to use government-subsidized highways and airports without having to pay taxes to fund them. Now that America has gone on to witness the collapse of such mammoth firms as Enron and Lehman Brothers, not to mention the bankruptcy and bailout of General Motors, the story of the Rock provides an instructive lesson in how a major American enterprise was allowed to fall victim to forces often beyond its control—while the bailout of the Penn Central, at the expense of smaller lines like Rock Island, helped initiate the era of “too big to fail.” For economic historians and railroad buffs alike, Rock Island Requiem is a well-researche

Download or read book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas written by Michael E. Hibblen and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017 with total page 1 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly 80 years, the Rock Island was a major railroad in Arkansas providing passenger and freight services. A decline in rail travel after World War II and an increase in trucks hauling freight over government-subsidized interstates were among factors that left the railroad struggling. Efforts to merge with other railroads were stalled for years by federal regulators. The Rock Island filed for bankruptcy in 1975 and attempted a reorganization, but creditors wanted the assets liquidated, with a judge shutting it down in 1980. Most of the tracks that traversed the state were taken up, but a few relics, like the Little Rock passenger station and the Arkansas River bridge, remain as monuments to this once great railroad.

Download or read book A Mighty Fine Road written by H. Roger Grant and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad's history is one of big booms and bigger busts. When it became the first railroad to reach and then cross the Mississippi River in 1856, it emerged as a leading American railroad company. But after aggressive expansion and a subsequent change in management, the company struggled and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1915. What followed was a cycle of resurrections and bankruptcies; a grueling, ten-year, ultimately unsuccessful battle to merge with the Union Pacific; and the Rock Island's final liquidation in 1981. But today, long after its glory days and eventual demise, the "Mighty Fine Road" has left behind a living legacy of major and feeder lines throughout the country. In his latest work, railroad historian H. Roger Grant offers an accessible, gorgeously illustrated, and comprehensive history of this iconic American railroad.

Download or read book The Rock Island Line written by Bill Marvel and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explore the rich history of the legendary railroad that spanned the American Midwest in this beautifully illustrated volume. Beginning operations in the mid-nineteenth century, the Rock Island Line served farms and small-town America for more than 140 years. One of the earliest railroads to build westward from Chicago, it was the first to span the Mississippi, advancing the frontier, bringing settlers into the West, and hauling their crops to market. Rock Island’s celebrated Rocket passenger trains also set a standard for speed and service, with suburban runs as familiar to Windy City commuters as the Loop. For most of its existence, the Rock battled competitors much larger and richer than itself. When it finally succumbed, the result was one of the largest business bankruptcies ever. Today, as its engines and stock travel the busy main lines operated by other carriers, the Rock Island Line lives on in the hearts of those whom it employed and served.

Download or read book The Chicago Rock Island Pacific Railway System and Representative Employees written by and published by . This book was released on 1900 with total page 770 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Mighty Fine Road written by H. Roger Grant and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Grant has once again hit a home run . . . a detailed but readable history of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, a major Midwestern railroad.” —Carlos A. Schwantes, St. Louis Mercantile Library Professor Emeritus The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad’s history is one of big booms and bigger busts. When it became the first railroad to reach and then cross the Mississippi River in 1856, it emerged as a leading American railroad company. But after aggressive expansion and a subsequent change in management, the company struggled and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1915. What followed was a cycle of resurrections and bankruptcies; a grueling, ten-year, ultimately unsuccessful battle to merge with the Union Pacific; and the Rock Island’s final liquidation in 1981. But today, long after its glory days and eventual demise, the “Mighty Fine Road” has left behind a living legacy of major and feeder lines throughout the country. In his latest work, railroad historian H. Roger Grant offers an accessible, gorgeously illustrated, and comprehensive history of this iconic American railroad. “This handsome, well-illustrated book merits the attention of any reader interested in the history of Iowa. And just as important, the book reminds us of the importance of railroads to the history and vitality of American society. All aboard!” —Iowa City Press-Citizen “A Mighty Fine Road lays out the amazing, yet heartbreaking history of the railroad I loved. The historical opportunities and disappointments of the Rock Island is clearly explained in Grant’s book, with visionaries keeping the dream moving forward, yet damaged and constrained by greed and lack of vision with the next management regime.” —Dan Sabin, President, Iowa Northern Railway Company

Download or read book The Rock Island Railroad written by and published by . This book was released on 1871 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Chicago Rock Island Pacific Railway Company written by Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway Company and published by . This book was released on 1919 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Chicago and Rock Island Railroad written by Chicago and Rock Island Railroad Company and published by . This book was released on 1854 with total page 1 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Grand Excursions on the Upper Mississippi River written by Curtis C. & Elizabeth M. Roseman & Roseman and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In June 1854 the Grand Excursion celebrated in festive style the completion of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad to the Mississippi River. Hundreds of dignitaries including newspaper editors and other journalists; politicians; academics, writers and artists; business and industry leaders; and railroad officials were among those who traveled by rail from Chicago to Rock Island, Illinois, then by steamboat to St. Paul in Minnesota Territory. The travelers were shown a region undergoing rapid settlement by Europeans—an area of great natural beauty offering many promises for additional development. One hundred and fifty years later, the thirteen essays in this volume examine the activities and environments of the 1854 Grand Excursion and place them in the context of an evolving regional identity for the Upper Mississippi River Valley based on the economy, culture, geography, and history of the area. In a series of “excursions,” the contributors explore the building of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, eastern newspaper accounts of the 1854 excursion, steamboating, the area’s pictorial landscape, passenger trains along the scenic river, the genesis and features of river towns, the control of the river for navigation, the development of preserves, parks, and recreation areas, the lumber industry, and commercial fishing. The book concludes by examining the resurgence of river-oriented development, as river towns are once again embracing the Mississippi. Generously illustrated with maps, engravings, ephemera, and historic and present-day photographs, Grand Excursions on the Upper Mississippi River will be of interest to tourists and residents of the area, river aficionados, railroad and steamboat history buffs, as well as academics interested in the history, geography, and regional development of the area.

Download or read book In Re Chicago Rock Island Pacific Railroad Company written by and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Annual Report of the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company written by Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway Company and published by . This book was released on 1945 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book In Re Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company written by and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rock Island Employes Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Report of the Chicago Rock Island Pacific Railway Co written by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company and published by . This book was released on 1902 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Report of the Chicago Rock Island Pacific Railway Co for written by Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway Company and published by . This book was released on 1902 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Building Chicago s Subways written by David Sadowski and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the "Initial System of Subways" during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago's soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago's first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park "L" into the median of Chicago's first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago's "I Will" spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago's subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride--making it a "Second City" no more